Hiria Te Rangi was a young single mum of twin boys when she taught herself how to build websites and code computer programs. It was a way to get a foot in the door into a well-paid job working in technology to improve her whānau’s day-to-day life.
Now she’s the CEO of Whare Hauora, a registered charity based in Wellington that has created sensors which tell you if your home is making you sick while educating residents on how small changes to their homes can make their lives healthier.
“We teach communities to create their own Whare Sensors, which are installed in their homes to measure the temperature and humidity of a room every 30 seconds,” tells Hiria, who is of Ngāti Porou and Tūwharetoa descent. “They can then check it from an app on their phone.”
The innovation came about after her beloved nan’s death from a preventable respiratory illness. Hiria believes the illness was caused by the cold, damp, state-owned home her grandmother lived in.
Hiria was inspired by her beloved nan Tawhai, who she lost too soon.
“We need to change the effect that cold, damp, mouldy housing has on our kaumātua [elders], pēpi [babies] and tamariki [children], when one-third of New Zealand homes are like that. Respiratory illness is the third leading cause of death here, mostly among children and the elderly.
“Our aim to put the sensors in every home, starting with our most vulnerable families, which will instantly tell whānau members when the temperature and humidity drop below World Health Organisation healthy home guidelines,” says Hiria, 44.
“Or how and what they can do to improve their environment or even where the warmest, driest part of the house is, so they can move there.”
Before Hiria got pregnant with Dakota and Amarni, now 24, at age 19, she says she didn’t have a goal-oriented approach to life. She tells, “When you have two babies and you’re down to the last 10 dollars, and you have to choose between getting something for dinner or putting it on the power… well, that’s the point I thought, ‘This sucks so bad. And it’s not the twins’ fault.’
“So I just pushed really hard from there, and began to learn about computers and the internet,” says the proud mum, who also has sons Lance, 11, and Milan, 10, with partner Jamie Ritchie.
“Once I was connected to the internet, I had access to all this information – without even having to leave my house,” says Hiria. “And soon I figured out that I could build one of those websites myself. All the information for me to learn how to do that was right there.
“I started volunteering to build websites for charities and sports teams, just to get the practice. I’m a bit of a self-taught nerd.”
To donate, visit givealittle.co.nz/org/wharehauora
